The Lure of Lavender

Poetry Friday.

Lavender. Oh, — — the color. — the fragrance. — the sound of the word.

All summer long, I enjoy my bed lavender. I can’t walk past it without breaking off a stem and rubbing it between my palms. In the cool of early summer mornings, I drink its intoxicating aroma. And in the sunlight, I watch the bees flit from blossom to blossom. I always have a hard time talking myself into cutting it to bundle and dry. But I know that if I do, it will be with me on a dreary, wintry day. And I must add, that even though I love lavender for its own sake, my little bit of lavender is extra special because it was planted by my son who lives in Ecuador.

Lavender
Sweetly fragrant
Fresh and clean
Calming
Soothing

Lavender
Perfumes
Soaps
Fresheners
Beauty

Lavender
Cooking
. . . What?
Cooking? ?
Yes . . .
Cooking.

I was on a layover in Phoenix, browsing a novelty shop when I spotted a display of lavender products.

“Sharon Shipley loves lavender, and she infuses her passion into over 120 intriguing recipes. It’s a must have for all lavender devotees.”

Well, I’m not sure I agree. I like looking at my lavender; I like breathing deeply of my lavender, but I’m not sure I want to consume any lavender.

But, still undecided, when I boarded my next flight, I was carrying a small brown bag stamped Los Poblanos, the Organic Lavender Farm with my new lavender cookbook and a small jar of culinary lavender wrapped in none else but lavender tissue paper.

Ah, …… the color, … the fragrance, … the flavor, … the sound of the word — Lavender!

And just in case you’d like a bit more lavender . . .
And since this is Poetry Friday . . .
I’m sharing a link to Amy Ludwig VanDerwater April 2 post when she drew a lavender crayon and writes of a lavender sky. I especially love how Amy shares her thinking and crafting of her poem, “Each Morning.”

Nice! I share your enthusiasm for lavender. I’ve grown to appreciate it another way–in my diffuser. a few drops of lavender essential oil in the water and the magic mist transforms the room with the gentlest lavender scent. Just love it!

Oh, what will you make with your culinary lavender? I want to know! My mother used to mix essential lavender oil with coconut oil to use for foot massage. It was wonderful. I need to mix up a batch….and read your poem whilst my feet soak up the goodness.

I have lavender planted outside my front door. I usually just admire them where they bloom, but may have to try drying some. On vacation one summer, we visited a lavender farm. I sniffed all the lotions and soaps and looked at the culinary jars, but didn’t purchase any. I hope to hear about some of your cooking adventures with lavender.

Someone on FB posted that they made lavender jelly, so I’m not surprised, but didn’t know there was a cookbook with recipes, too! I should plant a bush again. I did have several at my former home. Now you’ve made me want one again, Alice!

Just last night I was doing some random reading about plants that repel mosquitoes, and lavender is one. So today I just bought some seeds and have put a bag of them in potting soil in a sandwich bag in my refrigerator for 3 weeks to start the germination. I’ve never planted lavender before, but here I go! We have colossal mosquitoes in plentiful supply in Maine, so I’m going to plant marigolds and lavender at our new home. We’ll see!

So I’ve heard. I planted my lavender using small starts from the local nursery. They were small the first year but the second they took off and are a nice size now. I love gently rubbing the leaves when I walk past and drinking in their fragrance on my hands. And peppermint is another good mosquito repellent. I have some small plants to put into a strip along our fence where it will be fairly bound. I’m looking forward to using the fresh leaves in my tea and water also.